petit appetit

I make no secret of my bambini's selective food inclinations.  They get it from their mother. 

The creations by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers featuring food carved into all kinds of things like animals, cars, trucks, and houses grace the pages of several stories for children (and foodies), including simple books like Baby Food and Dog Food, short stories in verse like Fast Food, and longer imaginative stories like One Lonely Seahorse, Gus and Button, and Dr. Pompo's Nose.  In this day and age where some children don't know what a tomato is, the "Play with Your Food" phenomenon this duo has begun is an able -- and fun -- antidote to that ignorance.  How Are You Peeling? is a valuable tool for helping children develop emotional intelligence -- knowledge of both their own emotions and the vital skill of empathy for others.  Simple text labels the incredible range of expressions on the fruits and vegetables.  Food for Thought is another great teaching tool for basic concepts. 

The ageless struggle between parents and children to get children to eat what's given to them is given a new spin in Sugar Would Not Eat It, written by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Giselle Potter.  Leo adopts a stray kitten on the day after his birthday.  He names her Sugar and decides she must be hungry, so he offers her the last slice of his birthday cake.  But Sugar would not eat it, in spite of the threats, guilt trips, nagging, and bellowing he directs her way as he's heard his friends and neighbors describe of their own similar experiences.  In the end, the last slice of cake *does* get eaten -- by whom you can probably guess.

Giselle Potter has illustrated (and written, in some cases) a few other books we've liked, including Eugene Field's poem Wynken, Blynken, and Nod; Three Cheers for Catherine The Great; The Little Piano Girl: The Story of Mary Lou Williams, Jazz Legend; and Chloe's Birthday... And Me.

Cautious as we are in our food choices, there are some tasty books out there to satisfy even our pickiest palates ...